Trump broke the party of empathy (03-05-2025--Hour2)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:29] So we're talking about Donald Trump's address last night to the joint session of Congress. I do have audio clips. So I basically watched it last night and then I re-listened to it again today, all 17 hours of it each time. And no, it wasn't that long. But it was like the longest. It was the biggest speech ever. Longer than even Bill Clinton's long speeches. So yeah, it went on for a while. It was like two hours or so.

[00:00:58] I think it was like, what did it clock in? Like an hour and 50 minutes or something? Hour 45 minutes? Very lengthy. So, all right. What did you think? 704-570-1110. Continuing with the phone calls here, we go to Marvin. Welcome to the show. Hello, Marvin. Hello. Thanks for having my call. Yes, sir. This is a Democrat perspective. I've been hearing this morning of your show and all your listeners with their opinion from the Republican Party.

[00:01:27] But it didn't have anything to do with a kid that would bring damage and recover from cancer. It was about the lying, the lying Donald Trump. He continued to lie. He continued to ban base Democrats for no reason. He continued to... And nobody's fact-checking.

[00:01:48] Every day, people get on your phone and they say $350 billion to give it to Ukraine. Everybody knows that's all. It's not true. Have you ever heard... Hey, Marvin, have you ever heard me talk about the funding for Ukraine? Yes, I have. And what have I said about it? You have said there were $350 million, a billion dollars to give it to Ukraine, and you have continued...

[00:02:17] You haven't heard me talk about it, then? I have so, sir. And you continue to let people come on your show and repeat the same story. No. See, Marvin... See, here's the thing. I know what I say because, like, I do the prep to know what to say. And I have said this repeatedly. Marvin, I have said this repeatedly. See, because now you're lying. What I have said repeatedly is that people think that all of the aid that went to Ukraine was cash out the door, and that's not the case.

[00:02:47] I understand. I broke down the numbers on the Ukraine funding on Monday. I broke them all down. Like I said, once again, what you are giving to the listeners are not correct. What do you mean it's not correct? I cited a left-wing publication, their breakdown of the numbers. Yes. So, Marvin, how much money has gone to Ukraine? Marvin, how much has gone to Ukraine?

[00:03:16] And that's why we're going to continue to fight the fight. Marvin, Marvin, Marvin. You can believe that all you want, Marvin. Like I said before, Marvin, I said, Marvin, Marvin, Marvin, Marvin, Marvin, Marvin. First off, you're not going to be able to filibuster me on the show because... No, Marvin, see, you can't even... Can you help yourself? Hang on, Marvin. Can you help yourself here? Can you even stop yourself?

[00:03:44] Like, can you just not speak for a second? Well, I know I ain't going to get but a minute and 90 seconds before you hang up. You've already been on for three minutes almost. So that's a lie, too. Thank you, America. So that's a lie as well. So all I'm trying to do is talk with you about the things that you are asserting. And I give people a lot of time, particularly those who disagree with me, because I find these to be better conversations to illuminate and to enlighten than people who just agree with me.

[00:04:13] So I'm asking you whether you know what the Ukraine funding breakdown is. Yes, I do not have it in front of me. I apologize. I'm at work right now. So I don't have a computer in front of me right now where I can look up the numbers and I'll say... All right. So what's the total? The next time I call... No, no. All right. No, that's fine. No, I'm just asking. So I'm just asking if you know or if you know what the breakdown is. I've printed it out. Okay. It's on the Internet. Yeah. No, I know. Because I did it on Monday. I know that.

[00:04:43] So you and I both did the same breakdown. Okay. Right. But you accused me of lying. Does that mean your breakdown is lying as well? You allow people to come on your air. Who have I allowed... Okay. I listen to you every day. So I just must be having a senior moment. I listen to WBT every day. I appreciate that. I must be having a senior moment. So excuse me for being crazy because I... No, no. You're not crazy.

[00:05:13] And your word is gospel. Marvin. The Democrat word is garbage. And that's the line you're going to go with. So have your next caller come in. You seem to be in a rush to get off the... You seem to be in a rush to end the conversation. Okay, good. Okay, good. All right. So let's move away from the Ukraine thing. Because I know what I have said. You don't. That's fine. So I will just now... Let me move back to something you said. You said initially that it didn't...

[00:05:42] The Democrats' behavior didn't have anything to do with that kid. It did not. All right. You said it's because Donald Trump's a liar. So did Donald Trump lie about something regarding that kid? No. Okay, so... It didn't have anything to do with the kid. Okay. The fact is he had cancer and he survived brain cancer. Nothing's going to change that. Nobody said he had. Right. So what would be the downside? What would be the downside of applauding a child who has beaten cancer?

[00:06:10] Because five seconds before that, or minutes before that, he's talking to Democrats like we're children. Mm-hmm. And you don't expect somebody to come and give you praise for doing something that anybody with any kind of decency would have did to introduce a young man. And now you upset because we didn't give you praise because you didn't. Okay. So... Excuse me for thinking about yourself. All right. So the Democrats were right and it was the decent thing to do to withhold...

[00:06:40] Yes, it was. Under the circumstances, we had to make a point. The Republicans did the same thing with Greens. And it had been people that got up and called the President of the United States a liar. Mm-hmm. Do you remember the reaction? Same. Do you... Marvin, do you remember the reaction when Joe Wilson said that during Obama's speech? Do you remember what happened? The Republicans clapped and applauded. That's what they did. They did what? The Republicans clapped in the floor.

[00:07:09] No, they did not. Yeah, it did so. No. Anybody got to do is go back to... Yeah. ...2019, I believe, no, 2068, right now, and it's online. Yeah. So when Joe Wilson said, you lie, the chamber erupted in boos against him. Yeah, because it was a Democratic-led Congress. Mm-hmm.

[00:07:32] And then, and then, Joe Wilson was chastised by his fellow Republicans, and then he called and had a conversation with Obama where he apologized. He made a public apology about it. And then he refused to ever talk about it again because he didn't want to keep adding any fuel to the fire. He was like, I've made my apology and it's over, and Obama accepted the apology. So he expressed regret and contrition.

[00:07:59] So what about what the Democrats are doing that you don't take as regret for, that you would think they would sit down and have to go to that measure, to that protest of President of the United States? Right. So you, right. So here's the, so here's the thing. It has to be, it has to be deepened in this, I'm not going to announce this child. They wasn't announcing Donald Trump. Right. So the fact that, and this is what I said, Marvin, and so Marvin, Marvin, Marvin, Marvin, Marvin, you're spiraling.

[00:08:28] Marvin, what you are, what you've just articulated now is exactly what I said before in the last hour, which I know you heard because you said you listen all day. So what I said, what I said, but what I said in, Marvin, hang on, Marvin, I'm going to finish a freaking sentence with you. I swear. What I said in the first hour was that you Democrats are unable to differentiate between a 13 year old child up in the balcony and the man at the front of the room.

[00:08:56] And that is too, and that, and that is indicative of your inability to think clearly when it comes to Donald Trump, because that kid up there did nothing to you to deserve to be shunned as you did. I didn't shun him. I wasn't in the building. No, you're defending the shunning. So I'm throwing you in the group. I, every, every single time Donald Trump get up there and tell lies, I want the Democrat party to boo him a set down because the man's tail lies. Fine. That's separate. Fine. That's separate.

[00:09:25] You can boo, boo Donald Trump for his lies. How do you defend? How do you defend shunning the child? Defend shunning the child. That every president bring guests. Yes. Into that meeting. Right. Address to the state of the union or whatever. Right. When it's joint conference. Mm-hmm. So if you, if he was a bro, one of the proud boys in there convicted. Stop doing, stop doing metaphors and analogies.

[00:09:53] Deal with the topic that we have at hand, which is that child, that 13, that 13. Marvin, Marvin, I'm asking you. He didn't bring a proud boy. He had a 13 year old kid up there defend, defend the Democrats shunning him. No, I'm like, I say he's shunning Donald Trump. No, they are not shunning Donald Trump. They're shunning the child. Marvin. See, and again, you're, they were shunning Donald Trump.

[00:10:20] Even when the 95 year old mother of the, uh, just released prisoner. You're talking about a prisoner of war. No, I wasn't talking about a prisoner of war. Yeah. But whatever you call whatever. He was a hostage, Marvin. He was an American teacher held hostage. He was detained illegally. They had to lift him under illegal detention in order for the, for them to be able to move forward with his actual, well, his eventual release.

[00:10:49] That's how it works. Okay. Marvin, you have now moved to another, you have now moved on to another topic. I know you're trying to scramble for higher ground because you cannot defend the shunning of the child and you cannot differentiate shunning the child with booing the president. You see them as the same thing. And Trump has broken your brain, which is what I said in the first hour, which I know you heard because you listen all the time. Thank you for the call, Marvin. You can call back anytime. Here's a great idea.

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[00:12:45] I'm happy to keep you over through the news, but I just wanted you to know ahead of time. Thank you. I'll try to keep it short. It's generally what I want to speak about is politics, but there's a couple different topics. I guess I could consider myself somewhat extinct because I would be considered a conservative Democrat, which I don't think there's any of those left back ones. Ah, the old blue dogs. Yeah. Yeah. So the party, I didn't leave the party. The party left me. Yeah.

[00:13:10] And in regards to last night with that teenager, I just think in general that was a little bit disgusting because we, as adults, we need to learn to separate issues. And the fact that we had this packed mentality, which is one of the problems with our politics, I think, is either you're all on one side or all on the other side. Well, that's a problem right away. You know, I'm to the point now where I'd like to see every elected official go on and just put new people in.

[00:13:37] Just keep changing the deck because they don't work for us and they seem like they work for everybody else and they just talk a lot. And one person talks about this one lie. You know, they all seem to lie. And that's the problem. And that's why their ratings are so bad. And I wish there's something we could do about that. You know, the fact that everybody should have acknowledged that teenager and also the other kid that was going to West Point. Yeah. And people didn't do that.

[00:14:06] Well, shame on them. I don't care if you're a Democrat, Republican, communist, whatever. It shouldn't make a difference. What's good is good. You know, you should be able to applaud what is good. And people just can't seem to do that anymore. I will. Somebody and they hate everything they talk about. I think that I think that's the I think that might be the problem is when you say what's good is good.

[00:14:30] If people have lost the ability to decipher what is good, then it makes that kind of behavior we saw last night more explainable. I think you are absolutely correct. And our whole society seems to be that way. And I just think it's not fair. I actually feel sorry for my grandchildren dealing with this stuff because it never used to be like that, you know? Yeah. And I just think it's sad that everybody's on one side and you got a whole bunch of people

[00:14:59] on the other side. They mean to tell me there isn't stuff you can deal with. And that's why, you know, like Donald Trump or not like Donald Trump, some of the things I like about him, at least he's trying to do something. You know, I feel that our government definitely is too big and it doesn't work for the individual people anymore. You could tell by everything it does, because if it worked for the people, you'd be able to do something today. And if it didn't work six months or a year from now, you could change it. But we can't change anything. Once it's in place, it's like there forever.

[00:15:29] That tells you there's a problem right away because it's not nimble enough at all. Yeah. No, I got you. How can you help the people when you do that? You just can't help the people. Yeah. But I want to thank you for taking my call. Yes, sir. I want to thank you for that. All right. Well, hey, that's what I'm here for. Carmen, I appreciate that. I appreciate the call, sir. The old, the nearly extinct blue dog Democrat. No, Reagan Democrats, they were called, right? These are people that heard Kennedy say, ask what you can do for your country. And they then answered that call.

[00:15:57] And that the party as it is formed today, the Democrat Party does not resemble what the party was and nor does the Republican Party, but does not resemble what the party was like under Kennedy. It has changed. As Carmen said, the party left him. All right. If you're listening to this show, you know, I try to keep up with all sorts of current events. And I know you do, too. And you've probably heard me say, get your news from multiple sources. Why?

[00:16:25] Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which is why I've been so impressed with Ground News. It's an app and it's a website and it combines news from around the world in one place. So you can compare coverage and verify information. You can check it out at check.ground.news slash Pete. I put the link in the podcast description, too.

[00:16:46] I started using Ground News a few months ago and more recently chose to work with them as an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the left and the right. See for yourself. Check.ground.news slash Pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll get 15% off any subscription. I use the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature.

[00:17:13] Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports Ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. All right. Look, Democrats and like I get it. You didn't want to have to go there and see Donald Trap take a victory lap. I understand that. Look, as one who has until the last election never had a president that I voted for win.

[00:17:37] I know what it's like to see somebody that you did not vote for get up in front of everybody and take victory laps. I understand what that feels like. And I have always urged people keep this in mind. Right. Because at some point. Your guy is going to win. And the other side is going to feel like you feel right now.

[00:18:01] And so maybe we get to a better place by not making people feel worse. Right. Maybe show a little grace or something. I have never been able to persuade people to do that. But here's the thing. Trump earned it. He earned the victory lap. And you may not like it. But he earned it. He won. He won all the swing states. He won the popular vote. He won the electoral college.

[00:18:31] He made massive gains. He swung like all of these counties over all these racial demographics. Like. You may not like it, but that means you just don't like that. The majority of Americans do not agree with you. They just don't agree with you. And I think the sooner you kind of come to terms with that, then I think the sooner it is, you'll be happy. I know that's a big, that's a high bar to get over for some people.

[00:19:01] Some people are, they're not happy unless they're miserable. I get it. The protests that we saw at the speech last night were planned. This is widely reported. Okay. Manu Raju over at CNN. He says, I've been in the House chamber for the speech. I have not seen any opposition party mount a protest like tonight.

[00:19:29] House and Senate Democratic leaders did not join the escort committee for the president. Democrats turned their back on him when he entered the chamber and did not shake his hand. They did not applaud virtually anything. Several walked out in the middle of the speech. Lots of signs in the back being held up by Democrat members. Repeated shouts of lies and you're lying.

[00:19:51] A Democrat member, Al Green, had to be thrown out by the sergeant at arms because he was disrupting the speech. Democrat leaders endorsed a no applause strategy.

[00:20:06] But Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader for Democrats, they reportedly urged members against using signs and props and loud outbursts for all the good that advice did them. Matt Woking, who is the vice president of communications for Axiom Strategies, a consulting guy,

[00:20:29] he's like one of the oldest and most obvious rules of Capitol Hill comms is do not under any circumstances hold a sign that can be photoshopped. And Democrats were like, yeah, let's just do it anyway. Because now have you seen the photoshopping? It is hilarious. All right, let's go over and chat with Alan. Hello, Alan. Welcome to the show. Hey, Pete.

[00:20:58] You know, I was going to talk about the embarrassment that you said Malcolm Graham was talking about. But before I go there, it's like, I think his name was Marvin. You need to have him on more often because he will convince those old-timey Democrats that the party has left them. They will realize the party has left them. I talk to a lot of them. They say, I was a Democrat. My daddy was a Democrat. And then all of a sudden they're saying, wow, their belief is not my belief. You need to have Marvin on more often.

[00:21:27] Well, as often as he'll call, I'll have him on, no doubt. Oh, but embarrassment. Last night, the young kid, cancer survivor, brain cancer survivor. I mean, you know, for him to even be there, everybody needed to recognize him. That wasn't anything Democrat-Republican. It was the fact of a teenager. Survived brain cancer, okay? Recognized the kid. And, hey, I'll tell you, I watched it off and on. I sort of go into naps.

[00:21:57] Lincoln Riley, her parents were there and recognized him. Was that right? Yep. Okay. Now, let me ask you this. Lincoln Riley bill. Yep. That was a bipartisan bill. That was a Republican-Democrat bill. You're going to tell me those people couldn't stand up and recognize her parents? That's the embarrassment that we're facing today, okay? You know, I ride the roads and I look and I see these, you know, like political signs, okay?

[00:22:25] That's that, embarrassed to be a Democrat. That's absolutely right, okay? And Malcolm Graham needs to be embarrassed, okay? And that's pretty much all I've got to say, Pete. All right, Alan, I appreciate the call. I think part of the reaction we are seeing from a lot of Democrats, and I think Marvin also, is that they know they cannot defend what occurred. The optics are bad. The optics are terrible.

[00:22:51] And so, they're just kind of, you know, flopping around on the floor, kicking their feet and banging their fists against the floorboards, because I don't know if there's anything else they can do. And I think that's what we kind of saw last night also. You know, stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of our past while transcending generations.

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[00:24:18] The speech made you feel hopeful, said 68%, proud, 54%, worried, only 27%, and angry, 16%. In the speech, Trump was presidential, 74%, entertaining, 74%, inspiring, 71%, unifying, 62%, divisive, 46%.

[00:24:50] Jessica Tarlov, who is a former Democrat strategy person now is a co-host on Fox's The Five. She's a Democrat. She says, does the opposition ever look good in these things? Hide the signs forever. Clap for normal good things like law enforcement, kids who beat cancer, families that have endured

[00:25:16] tragedy, iron workers, ignore the lies, most of your time anyway. Post good stuff online. Don't shake canes. That's what Al Green did. He was shaking his cane after they threw him out of the chamber, as was his intent, was to get removed. All right, let me go back to the phones here. We've got Alex up first. Hey, Alex, what's up? Hey, Pete, how you doing? Hey, I'm good. You might remember me. I'm the guy that wrote the letter of support to President Trump.

[00:25:44] I read on your program a few weeks ago. And I just want to say, I think that's the greatest speech I've ever heard him give. I mean, I was so proud of him last night. That's all I can say. I like the part where he said the Democrats were saying that they needed a new bill to stop the illegal immigration. And he said, all you needed was a new president. Yeah. I mean, that's the greatest line I heard him say. Yeah, I actually have. And I was intending to start the show and do a whole bunch of soundbites. But everybody wants to talk. And so, like, I've got loaded phone lines.

[00:26:14] So I've kind of pushed off the soundbites. But yeah, it was a great line. It was the best line of the speech last night, I thought. Yeah. Yeah. All right, Alex. Yeah, I appreciate it, man. Thanks. All right. Take care. You too. Let me go next up to Dan. Hello, Dan. Welcome to the show. Hi, Pete. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my call. You know, it's really simple. If Democrats want to win elections in the future, all they have to learn to do is to love

[00:26:42] America more than they hate Donald Trump. It's that easy. Yeah. And that might be too big of a ask. Could be. Yeah. Could be. When you can't stand up and applause for the success of a young cancer survivor, you have no soul. None. No soul at all. Yeah. Well, this is why I said that Trump broke them. Like, they are so broken, they cannot even recognize a good thing for being a good thing.

[00:27:12] You know? And that's a bad place to be in for them. And as a political party, that's a bad place. It's tough to be saddled with that much anger. Yeah. That much angst. That's not healthy. Yeah. I agree. Dan, I appreciate the call, buddy. Thanks, Pete. Yes, sir. Have a wonderful day. You too. Thank you. Let me go next to Robert. Hello, Robert. Welcome to the show. Good afternoon, Pete.

[00:27:36] It's rare that I get my thunder stolen, but it's been stolen two or three times. So I just don't hold here. The only way I would sum it up, if I were a Democrat, which I am not, anyone who listens to me here or elsewhere knows that I'm a Republican and I want the Democrats to stay in the wilderness as long as possible. But if they had any sense, and maybe someone like Anderson Clayton, who is a Southerner,

[00:28:06] someone like James Carville, they would know to come out of this wilderness, they need to find someone who would do exactly the same thing that Bill Clinton would do in almost any situation. Yes, he had his flaws, but he would have stood for that young man who wants to be a cop, dressed in his cop uniform. And then, by the way, it wouldn't have mattered if he was the only one standing in his group there. He would have stood and clapped.

[00:28:33] And then, after the speech, he would have gone up to that young man, DJ, I believe is his name. He would have hugged him, and he would have said, son, I am the governor of Arkansas. Whenever you are ready, you come to my state, and I will make you a state trooper. Right. Well, that's the thing. The party has moved on from Bill Clinton, that kind of new Democrat they called themselves.

[00:28:59] The coalition that makes up the Democrat Party now does not have any space for that kind of Democrat. That's just where they are now. Robert, I appreciate the call. Let me try to get a couple more on before the news here. This is Chris. Hello, Chris. Hey, Pete. How are you doing? Hey, I'm good. What's up? Hey, first time caller. I listen to your show every now and then. So let me just purpose it by saying I'm not a Democrat. I'm not a Republican. Totally independent. I voted both ways many, many times.

[00:29:26] And my whole thing is, number one, yes, I would have stood for DJ or surviving cancer. I don't believe that you should take out your anger or your frustrations with what's going on in politics on a 13-year-old kid who survived cancer. I will totally agree with that.

[00:29:43] I think the problem is, and I think the last caller kind of hit on it, what Democrats need to do is, I hate to use sports analogy, but it's almost like you lost the big game. Okay, let's move on from losing the big game. What do we do now, or what do Democrats do now in order to get better to compete when it comes to 20, what is it, 2028? Well, in 2026 and in 2028.

[00:30:14] Who do we put up that can, again, bring America together, cause, not cause, I'm not saying Democrats cause division. Obviously, there are people in the party that think Donald Trump has cause division. I myself can see that. I understand that. But we have to stop running on what Democrats want for America and what actually will bring the country together as a whole. In what Americans actually want. Right, yeah.

[00:30:43] And I think, no, I think you're exactly right, Chris. I appreciate the call. I'm up against the news. I think you nailed it. But, yeah, like they need to be able to differentiate. The problem they have is that they don't have that leader yet, that unifying force. That's the big problem for them. All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast. So if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here.

[00:31:11] You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecalendorshow.com. Again, thank you so much for listening. And don't break anything while I'm gone.